Buckling and post-buckling of single-wall carbon nanocones upon bending

A single-wall carbon nanocone (SWCNC) is treated as a tailored graphite sheet rolled up into a seamless hollow tapered form where its two sides are connected together. As either the top radius or height increases, the difference between the potential of a SWCNC and a graphite sheet becomes increasingly smaller. A quasi-continuum approach is adopted to investigate buckling and post-buckling behaviors of the formed SWCNCs, upon bending. It is found that both the height and top radius result in a decreasing critical bending angle. Only one pit develops at the top-centre of the SWCNC, irrespective of its height, and moves towards the bottom as the bending angle continues to increase. At the stage of post-buckling, two tiny symmetrical fins arise near the bottom, accompanying a slight jump in the average strain energy.